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Five Things That Mattered – Week 14

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/01/19, 3:07PM EDT

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Red Wolves continue to roll; North Texas might never draw, let alone lose, at home

With two decisive home victories on Saturday night, the gap between the top five clubs in the League One standings and the rest remains solid as North Texas SC capped off a big week on home turf. Here are five things we took away from the four games over the past weekend.

OFF TO A FLIER: Steven Beattie’s seventh-minute goal for Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Saturday night wasn’t the fastest the club had scored so far this season, but it set things up ideally for the hosts to continue their push toward the playoffs with a 1-0 win against a Richmond Kickers side that was once again toothless in attack. Victories against sides like the Kickers – who have now been held without a shot on goal for two consecutive games – shouldn’t bring that much excitement, but unlike earlier in the season when we were waiting for a challenger to emerge for the top two, the Red Wolves are at least taking care of the wins they should be handling with ease. While there’s still the question of whether they will have enough to challenge North Texas or Tormenta FC when the postseason comes around, the Irish forward’s seventh goal of the season – which is now tied for second in the league – ensured an undefeated month of June for Head Coach Tim Hankinson’s side and a firm grip on third place in the standings.

SWEEPING ALL BEFORE THEM: North Texas SC has had to do without Ricardo Pepi for a few games now – you can check out a great feature on the 16-year-old here – and while matches away from home brought the first few bumps in the road for Head Coach Eric Quill’s side this month, there is still no answer for what NTSC brings at Toyota Stadium. After Saturday night’s 3-1 victory in a top-four clash with Lansing Ignite FC, North Texas is now 7-0-0 on its home turf and has a league-best +11 home goal differential on the back of 16 tallies. Ronaldo Damus continued his run of form with a goal in a fourth consecutive game, filling in the gap left at the top of the lineup created by Pepi’s absence admirably with six goals in the month of June overall.I If those two start appearing in the lineup together on a consistent basis when FC Dallas’ Gold Cup and Copa America call-ups return, then this side is simply going to become more potent.

WHAT IT TAKES: It might have come against an Orlando City B side that had Head Coach Fernando Jose De Argila Irurit fuming during the game – “This was the worst game that we have had all season,” Irurit said postgame. “We didn’t arrive to the opponent’s box during any moment of the game. It’s very difficult to win a game if you don’t try.” – but Greenville Triumph SC’s 2-0 win on Friday night was a necessary step forward if the club is going to bridge the gap to the playoff places in the second half of the season. Triumph SC has now scored multiple goals in back-to-back games as it prepares for the challenge of becoming the first side to take points from North Texas on the road this Sunday, and after picking up its first victory in more than a month is still hanging around the playoff line. 

FATAL MISTAKE: Toronto FC II had been under pressure from Forward Madison FC before and after taking the lead late in the first half on Friday evening thanks to Jordan Perruzza’s beautifully created and taken finish, but the hosts had held their own in large part thank to goalkeeper Kevin Silva. But then, the illustration of how so much good work can be undone in an instant arrived as Silva misjudged a through-ball for Madison’s Don Smart and after backpedaling back into his goal wasn’t quite able to handle the cross, delivering Danny Tenorio’s first league goal for the Flamingos on a platter. That goal, and the 1-1 draw that it produced, left Toronto below the playoff line at the end of the weekend. It’s hard to have to learn lessons from this – Silva was otherwise excellent as he recorded six saves – but according to Opta it’s his second error that has led to a goal this season and it cost TFC II two points it could certainly have used.

POWERED UP FRONT: By contrast, Forward Madison FC will have been happy to at least get a point out of its trip to Toronto, but the side should be more enthused by the continued pressure its attack is putting on opponents as it continues its road trip this Saturday against Tormenta FC. Over the past three games beginning with the game against FC Tucson on June 15, FMFC has recorded 50 shots overall, putting 21 of them on target and posting 38 key passes. Those first two figures lead League One in that timeframe, and the club’s key passes numbers are just behind Greenville Triumph SC for second. They might have needed to get a slice of good fortune to get a result this past outing, but the Flamingos are doing all the right things to put themselves in position for success as they look to close the gap to the playoff places.


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